Travel News

Take a ride on Dulles’s new AeroTrain, recline on Delta’s (soon-to-be) upgraded fleet, and spend the night in Georgetown for less.

Some $3 billion and eight years of construction later, Dulles International Airport unveiled its new underground AeroTrain this week. The system features 29 cars at speeds topping 40-miles-an-hour along a four-mile track—allowing passengers to travel between terminals in just over a minute. Dulles’s bus-like mobile lounges will still transport travelers to the D terminal, while the AeroTrain will be used between the A, B, and C terminals.

In late 2009, the Chrysler Museum , one of Virginia’s premier fine art galleries, decided to permanently wave its admission fees. Following suit, the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond recently announced that it is offering free entrance to all patrons through 2010. Dedicated to preserving relics from Virginia’s past, the museum has two new exhibits: The Portent: John Brown’s Raid in American Memory, chronicling the life of the famous Southern abolitionist, and Cold War Crisis:The U-2 Incident, which marks the 50th anniversary of an American reconnaissance plane being shot down by over the Soviet Union. For more information on the museum and its other exhibits, click here.

This week, Delta Air Lines, the world’s highest-grossing airline company, announced that it will invest $1 billion over the next four years to upgrade its fleet and passenger amenities. While the bulk of the upgrades will be geared toward the company’s BusinessElite and first-class flyers—such as flat-bed seats on trans-Atlantic carriers—Delta plans to add in-seat audio and video on demand throughout its Boeing 747 economy class.

Wyndham Vacation Resorts opened a 250-unit flagship timeshare at Maryland’s National Harbor this week. The resort, which is comprised of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, is already 75 percent sold and joins the company’s other Washington-area timeshare, Wyndham Old Town Alexandria.

Couples looking to get away without leaving town might consider Georgetown’s Latham Hotel—the hotel is offering a 15 percent discount on any room booked by 5 pm on January 29. Located within walking distance of the neighborhood’s nightlife and boutiques, the Latham also is home to the top-rated Citronelle restaurant.